


Reunion

by Bryonia_Alba



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 17:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11018052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bryonia_Alba/pseuds/Bryonia_Alba
Summary: Neville's surprised to discover who the new owner of the Leaky Cauldron is.





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Teenyfic using the prompts Neville/Hannah and the statement "You own this place now?". Written July 2010.

The sign had read _Closed For Repairs_ for several weeks, an occurrence eliciting much curiosity along with the grumbles that came from those needing a detour to Muggle London. The Leaky Cauldron was an institution, after all. No one could recall the last time the old pub had been closed for business. All most people knew was that old Tom had retired, and the next day the sign had gone up. Those who knew more than that were keeping their lips sealed.

Consequently, business was brisk the first day the _Closed For Repairs_ sign was replaced by a new one, this one reading _Open Under New Management_. Patronage consisted of a who’s who of the wizarding world, including the Chosen One himself, all eager to see what, if anything, had changed about the Leaky Cauldron.

Neville waited until three days after the pub’s grand re-opening before stopping in, thereby missing the media hoopla. It wasn’t the business reporters he minded so much as the society ones. He’d endured quite enough of Rita Skeeter’s acid-green quill after the war and wasn’t keen on another encounter. Besides, the Leaky Cauldron was a pub when all was said and done, even if it had received a fresh coat of paint and a new owner.

Nonetheless, he found himself suitably impressed when he entered one afternoon, after the lunchtime crowd had thinned yet well before people stopped in at the end of the day for their evening pint. Everything was clean and sparkling, the brass on the bar gleaming like new and the walls covered with a fresh layer of whitewash. Even the smoky ceiling and rafters were clean. He could only imagine what the rooms upstairs looked like, if the common room was any indication.

Sitting down on one of the new, comfortably padded barstools, Neville was startled to discover he knew the girl behind the bar. “Hannah?”

“Hello, Neville.” Hannah smiled and reached for a pint glass. “Your usual bitter?”

“How did you know?” 

“I remember it’s what you usually order when you come here. I make it a point to know what my customers prefer.” Hannah tucked a stray wisp of hair back into her bun. The bun itself was a surprise – Neville had never seen her in anything but pigtails until now.

“Your customers?” he asked. “Wait... _you_ own this place now?”

Hannah shrugged. “I do. I don’t know why that seems to surprise everyone I went to school with. They all looked about as gobsmacked as you do right this second. Not all of us were cut out for the Ministry, you know. Or academia, for that matter. Are you still apprenticing for Professor Sprout? Oh, and you never said whether you want your usual or not.”

“The usual, please.” Neville recovered his manners, albeit belatedly. “Yes, I finish my apprenticeship this year. I enjoy it, but I think that’s mostly because Pomona and I get along well.” He shifted on the stool, finding a comfortable spot. “Maybe you weren’t cut out for a Ministry career, but you never struck me as the pub owning type, either. If anyone, I would have picked Seamus going for that particular career.”

“Old Tom is a cousin on my Dad’s side. When he said he wanted to retire at the last family get-together, I told him I was interested in taking over in his stead. I think he’s happy it’s staying in the family after a fashion. None of his daughters or their husbands wanted it. And that’s how I came to be the new proprietress of the Leaky Cauldron. I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a nice way to keep abreast of all the gossip. People will tell you just about anything once they’ve had a drink or three.” 

“I can imagine.”

Hannah drew his pint, setting it before him. “You know, I think you could. You always were a patient listener. I could never have passed Herbology without your help.”

“You would have done fine without me.”

“I would have got an Acceptable on my OWL. You made sure I got Exceeds Expectations. Barely, to be sure, but I got it because of you.”

“Well, it’s kind of you to say so.” Neville saluted her with his pint glass and drank. “What time do you finish here? I figured we could have dinner somewhere, some place that isn’t grub from your own pub? Maybe catch up properly without worrying about constant interruptions from other customers?”

“I usually finish around nine. That’s a bit late for dinner, though.”

“Oh.” Neville deflated a bit. “Your next day off, maybe?”

“No, tonight’s fine!” Hannah exclaimed. “I can have Ian close for me. He owes me a favour, anyway. I can be ready by seven.”

“Seven.” Neville grinned, slightly dazed. He had a date! “I’ll come back then.”

Finishing his pint, he began fishing for coins but Hannah waved him off. “That one’s on me. I’ll see you at seven.”

“Right, seven.” Neville knew his grin probably made him look ridiculous, if not slightly loopy, but Hannah seemed more amused than anything else. “I’ll see you then.”

He left the pub, whistling and looking forward to his date with Hannah Abbott.


End file.
